Sony's new VAIO AR600 series of 17-inch laptops

Sony has a nice new line of upgraded AR series laptops on offer, with options for Blu-ray and CableCard in the mix. The main differences are pretty straightforward: The $1,700 AR630E sports the Blu-ray drive alone, the $2,400 AR660U does the CableCard thing, and the $3,300 AR690U does both. The laptops run Intel Core 2 Duo T7250 and T7500 processors and Vista Home or Ultimate -- the AR630E gets the short end of the stick in both cases. Other standard features include a 1.3 megapixel webcam, 1440 x 900 or 1920 x 1200 17-inch display, 8400M GT and 8600M GT NVIDIA graphics, dual 160GB SATA HDDs and HDMI out. All three models should be out around the 2nd of October.

[Thanks, William M]

[Nfinity @ Sep 24th 2007 9:09AM]

I find their laptops to be completely lacking power. For a company that builds everything "uber" powerful, their strongest laptop line-up has CPU only up to Core 2 Duo 7500? I mean wtf.

I wanted to buy their laptop as I do creative work and it was either AR Sony or Mac Book Pro. Well as I can't get enough juice out of these, I went with Mac Book Pro.

[William @ Sep 24th 2007 9:16AM]

They are going to offer higher speced processors on the Build-to-order models.
The thing I am frustrated about is the lack of a docking station.

[Joey @ Sep 24th 2007 10:48AM]

I really prefer a less speedy notebook since the battery will last longer if it isnt sitting there revved up to 12,000 RPM's while Im typing a word document

[Yem @ Sep 24th 2007 5:08PM]

Joey: you know modern processors can scale the frequency down when not stressed, right? My relatively old Thinkpad gets 1 hour at full speed and 2.5 hours with scaling.

[Mereally @ Sep 25th 2007 1:03AM]

William:
There is a docking station, here it is:
http://www.sonystyle.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10551&storeId=10151&langId=-1&productId=11038695&tab=Features

[Owen V @ Sep 24th 2007 9:13AM]

a 17 inch 1920x1200, wow. I guess they need to offer it if people want to watch BD movies in full resolution, but wow.

[kelly @ Sep 24th 2007 10:00AM]

1920x1200, what's so odd about that? my dell 9300 from 2 years ago has a 1920x1200 screen (i had a fantastic version luckily, getting a little dated now.)

[Deluxe @ Sep 24th 2007 9:58AM]

I considered getting one of the AR series, but ended up picking the FZ. Gimme some 15" 1920 x 1200 action and I'm on board! I thought about going with the FZ with Blu-ray model but it just doesn't seem all that useful without a screen that'll take advantage of it.

[Brice @ Sep 24th 2007 10:02AM]

I had a VAIO AR for more than 6 months now... very happy with it! Even if the CPU isn't the fastest in the world... I still do good jobs. I'm an architect by the way...

[jroc @ Sep 24th 2007 7:25PM]

Just like George Costanza?

[jroc @ Sep 24th 2007 7:25PM]

Just like George Costanza?

[chadow @ Sep 24th 2007 10:15AM]

Vaio's have, and with these still are, just average PC's at ridiculously high prices. I don't understand what market they are trying to attract. I think they are one of the better looking laptops no doubt, but I would always have to choose function over fashion so I know I am not the buyer they are looking for. Toshiba, Sager, Asus, Dell, HP, and even Alienware would give you a more powerful PC at comparable price points.

[yroc @ Sep 24th 2007 10:19AM]

I'm starting to think that Sony wants out of the computer business. Look at that thing. Is that the product or is it an old file footage photo? They are basically telling everyone "just go to the Apple Store" I know I am.

[Argot @ Sep 24th 2007 10:25AM]

Well, and when you get to the Apple store you stand there for a while, shake your head while pointing and laughing at the crap they sell. And then what?

[erezg @ Sep 24th 2007 11:07AM]

The thing is, there are no other 17" laptops (or any size, for that matter?) that I know of that offer a 1080p screen, blu-ray and an hdmi connection. I am trying to weigh up whether to go for the AR series, or to wait and see if the new MacBook Pros add these features.

The only thing i don't understand is what exactly have they upgraded on the AR60? The AR57 was customizable up to a T7700 processor,1920x1200 screen the same blu-ray drive and tv-tuner. So what exactly is new?

[cannedand @ Sep 24th 2007 1:16PM]

Asus W2W
http://www.asus.com/products4.aspx?modelmenu=2&model=1834&l1=5&l2=23&l3=524&l4=26

[William @ Sep 24th 2007 3:34PM]

Unfortunately I don't think anything is new here except for the BD/ROM option. It would have been nice if they had given it back its docking station, however I do not think they did because it does not mention one in the accessories list. I mean seriously, only 3 USB and no FireWire 600 on a 17" notebook? This would be much better if they added a dock.

[Dave @ Sep 24th 2007 11:59AM]

I have two Sony AR notebooks in use supporting online instruction at a small college. Can't say enough how well they work. Great support from Sony. Had been using a Dell's before - & not multimedia friendly. What a difference for audio and video, and all things hi-end multimedia. Faculty and students rely on these machines when giving presentations. They are expensive and prob. not leading edge, but solid, reliable and well worth it.

[Dinraj @ Sep 24th 2007 12:59PM]

I own an AR and I quite like it.It's nice and sturdy. Perfect for a desktop replacement. The xbrite screen offers the best contrast for watching these Hi-Def movies.

The thickness of the laptop though, is completely unjustified. It is just too thick for what it has to offer. C'mon if apple can use vaio engineers to squeeze all that into 1 inch, why cant sony do it for themselves??

I had such a hard time finding a backpack for it.